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Enugu, Nigeria to close for runway works from 3Q19

The runway at Enugu's Akanu Ibiam International Airport will close "for major repairs and works on the airfield" from August 24, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said in a statement dated August 17. A date has not been set for reopening.

"This move is aimed at resolving the existing safety and security concerns for flight operations. A date to reopen the runway will be communicated in due course," the statement said.

Currently, only two airlines serve the southern Nigerian city. Air Peace (P4, Lagos) links it to both Lagos (14x weekly) and Abuja (7x weekly), while Ethiopian Airlines operates a 3x weekly connection with Addis Ababa. Network changes implemented by Arik Air (W3, Lagos) in early June included the cancellation of its routes from Enugu to Abuja and Lagos.

In January, before the global grounding of the B737 MAX, Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema told African Aerospace that it planned to use its incoming fleet of MAX jets to open up point-to-point intercontinental routes, including one from Enugu to London.

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The delivery ceremony will take place at São José dos Campos airport. The first E195-E2 for Azul will be dry-leased from AerCap.

The Brazilian carrier currently has firm orders for fifty-one E195-E2s from the manufacturer and will also take three each from AerCap and Aircastle. It expects to receive six units by the end of 2019. The new generation jets will replace the airline's existing regional fleet, which consists of six E190ARs and fifty-one E195ARs.

The Nigerian government has cleared Asaba airport for international operations after inspections confirmed that the facility meets the requirements, the Nigerian media have reported.

Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika told the journalists that the federal government did not want to wait with the approval after the airport had demonstrated that it meets the requirements.

According to the ch-aviation capacities module, Asaba currently sees minimal domestic traffic with 3x weekly flights to Abuja operated by Overland Airways (OF, Lagos) using ATR42-300 turboprops. So far, no airline has come forth with a proposal to launch international services from Asaba.

Meanwhile, the Imo state government has approached the federal authorities over international status for Owerri airport, The Guardian has reported. The airport is currently served by Air Peace (P4, Lagos) and Dana Air (9J, Lagos) and has scheduled connections to Abuja and Lagos. Air Peace has expressed tentative interest in expanding its presence at Owerri airport once it receives international status.

"We might be doing Johannesburg and India almost at the same time [in August] or at most in September. So at most second week of September. We are looking forward to discussing with Air India which is key so they can fly our passengers beyond India... We are going to Guangzhou in November," Onyema was quoted as saying by the Daily Trust.

Onyema said that the airline already had the approval to operate into Johannesburg and was in discussion with potential airline partners in South Africa.

The carrier launched its 3x weekly service from Lagos to Sharjah on July 5. Flights are operated with the carrier's only active B777-300, 5N-BUU (msn 29064). The route is Air Peace's maiden intercontinental service and only the second international, on top of its 8x weekly flights from Lagos to Accra...

Air Peace (P4, Lagos) is planning to make its longhaul debut on July 5 with a 3x weekly Lagos-Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) non-stop service. Operations are onboard one of the Nigerian carrier's three B777s (two B777-300s and one -200(ER)).

Air Peace currently operates a fleet of eight B737-300s, five B737-500s, and one Do328-300. Its Air Peace Hopper (APL, Lagos) subsidiary also operates six E145s of which five are known to be active. In terms of network, it serves various cities across Nigeria with Accra its only international destination at present.

Earlier this year, Air Peace set forth plans to expand its network to include South Africa, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom.